Why is my page ranking lower when my moz stats are higher?

[Smart_Start]

There are several keywords that I search for and I notice we rank lower than a couple of competitors. When I use the mozbar and view the stats, I see that are PA and DA are higher and in some instances the ones who rank higher don't even show all the keywords in their meta descriptions. If this is the case, how are they still ranking higher?

[Cody_West]

First off, meta descriptions don't affect your ranking in the SERPs. They DO however contribute to CTR (i.e if you see what you are searching for in the meta description, you are more inclined to click it).

There could be a few things contributing to the other sites ranking higher than you.

1. Site Age: Even if you have more links pointing to your site and a higher DA, site age could be contributing to your lower ranking.

2. Click Through Rate: The click through rate on the site above your site could be higher. You might even have a higher bounce rate.

I would also make sure you are effectively using internal linking on the pages that aren't ranking as well as you'd like.

[Smart_Start]

Cody,

Thanks for the response. I read that CTR doesn't effect SEO. Below is an article that recently read on the subject as well. Do you disagree? I am new to SEO and still learning, so would love to gain insight.

http://searchengineland.com/ctr-ranking-factor-227162

[Cody_West]

Yeah it is definitely a debate in the world of SEO. I tend to lean toward AJ John's opinion. http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/is-click-through-rate-a-ranking-signal

[webtheoria.com]

And lets not forget other on-page optimization tactics such us:

meta title, heading 1, heading 2, correct keyword in relation to the text, page load, distance from home page, url structure!

just imagine how many more exist which we do not know about..

[Smart_Start]

Using the Moz bar I know that I am doing those technical SEO pieces much better than they are. All of the reasonable explanations seem to go in my favor. Just still confused.